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Judd Legum Profile picture
@JuddLegum
Nov 29, 2023 • 11 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
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1. Earlier this month, a mysterious woman appeared before a school board in Texas and claimed that, when she was 11, she READ A SCHOLASTIC BOOK THAT SPARKED A DEBILITATING PORN ADDICTION.

We investigated.

And it's ABSOLUTELY WILD what is happening.

🧵 Image
2. The woman was 20-year-old Lanah Burkhardt.

Burkhardt said after reading a Scholastic book that depicted a "single kiss," she "looked for other books that gave me pleasure." This "led to internet searches" that she will "never forget."

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
3. Burkhardt cited her story as a reason to restrict access to Drama, a novel published by Scholastic. The book includes this image of two people kissing: Image
4. But Burkhardt went further, arguing that Conroe should remove all Scholastic books from schools and stop hosting Scholastic book fairs.

According to Burkhardt, "getting rid of Scholastic books and their book fairs will inevitably protect kids."

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
4. Burkhardt's appearance was promoted by SkyTree Book Fairs, a newly formed organization marketing itself as "an alternative to the sexually explicit content distributed in Scholastic's book fairs." Image
5. SkyTree Book Fairs presents itself as an independent non-profit. But it appears to be a hastily assembled offshoot of Brave Books, which publishes children's books by right-wing pundits

The president of SkyTree Book Fairs was recently an "Executive Assistant" at Brave Books Image
6. Burkhardt's appearance at the Conroe school board was also promoted by Brave Books. The company called it a "must watch" and a "powerful message that needs to be heard."

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
7. Neither Brave Books nor Burkhardt disclosed that Burkhardt is an employee of Brave Books. According to her LinkedIn profile, Burkhardt is the company's "public relations coordinator." Image
8. The Conroe school board, after listening to Burkhardt's story, voted to restrict access to Drama from all students in the 8th grade and below. One of the school board members, Melissa Dungan, suggested replacing Scholastic with SkyTree Book Fairs. Image
9. More on Brave Books/SkyTree and their scheme to replace Scholastic with kids' books written by right-wing Pizzagate conspiracy theorists in today's newsletter

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
10. For UPDATES and more accountability journalism, subscribe to Popular Information.

It's free to sign up.

popular.info/subscribe

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum Profile picture
Apr 29
1. Clay Jackson, a Texas lawyer, provided basic legal advice to an immigrant family fearing deportation

Then, two officers visited him at his home, accusing him of "obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation"

Then, after speaking publicly, he was fired from his job at a Fortune 500 company

🧵
2. A gas station attendant asked Jackson to talk to an immigrant family fearing deportation. He agreed and met w/them for an hour

Two days later, two plain-clothes officers came to his home and accused him of obstructing an immigration investigation

popular.info/p/fortune-500-…
3. Jackson told his story to journalist Radley Balko.

At Jackson's request, Balko did not identify Jackson's employer in the piece.

The story was published on April 23.

Later that day, Jackson was fired.
Read 7 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Apr 23
1. Jose Hermosillo is US citizen who was wrongly jailed in an immigration detention facility for 10 days

The administration says he "turned himself in" to the Border Patrol and told them he was a Mexican who crossed the border illegally.

I interviewed Hermosillo.

He says the government is lying.Image
2. @DHSgov said, "Hermosillo's arrest and detention were a direct result of his own actions"

DHS also released what purports to be a transcript of Hermosillo's conversation w/Border Patrol

Hermosillo said this conversation was fabricated.

popular.info/p/us-citizen-w…
3. Hermosillo says he was visiting his girlfriend's family in Tucson from his home in Albuquerque

Hours before his arrest, Hermosillo was transported to a hospital in Tucson by ambulance after suffering from a seizure

He has a New Mexico ID, but didn't take it with him during the medical emergency
Read 10 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Apr 21
1. There has been a lot of attention, rightly, on the Trump administration disappearing immigrants to El Salvador

But something that has gotten much less attention is the Trump administration WRONGFULLY DETAINING US CITIZENS they "suspect" are undocumented immigrants. Image
2. 19-year-old Jose Hermosillo, a US citizen, was visiting Tucson when he passed by the Border Patrol headquarters, and "an agent arrested him for illegally entering the country."

popular.info/p/federal-immi…
3. Hermosillo told immigration officials that he was a U.S. citizen, but they did not believe him.

Court documents obtained by Danyelle Khmara of AZPM say that Hermosillo was detained "at or near Nogales, Arizona" and that he "admitted" he was not a citizen.

(Nogales is more than an hour from Tucson. Hermosillo says he has never been to Nogales.)
Read 7 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Apr 16
1. Truth Social, Trump's social platform, announced an audacious scheme yesterday to profit from Trump's tariffs

It will offer actively-managed INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS composed of stocks in companies that benefit from Trump's policies

It's a jaw-dropping conflict of interest Image
2. Trump's tariff announcements have had massive impacts on stock prices.

His reciprocal tariffs tanked the market. When he paused them, the market rebounded.

Carving out an exemption for consumer electronics imported from China boosted Apple stock

popular.info/p/truth-social…
3. Trump is the majority shareholder in Truth Social and will financially benefit from these accounts.

Both because Truth Social will invest their own cash in these accounts AND collect fees from others who invest in them

Interest in the accounts is directly tied to their performance
Read 7 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Apr 15
1. The North Carolina Supreme Court just TOSSED 260 BALLOTS in a razor-close election for a seat on the same court

The ballots were invalidated based on a claim by the Republican candidate that all of the voters were "never residents" of North Carolina

But that claim is false

We have receipts

🧾🧾🧾
2. Josiah Young was born & raised in North Carolina

The 20-year-old attended college in NC and runs a photography business in the state.

His ballot was invalidated based on the false claim he has never lived in NC

"My residence is in Jackson County. It's really not that hard to figure that out"

popular.info/p/north-caroli…
3. In all, at least 11 people whose ballots were discarded based on the claim that they have never lived in North Carolina have VOTED IN PERSON IN NORTH CAROLINA ELECTIONS strongly suggesting that they are, in fact, North Carolina residents.

popular.info/p/north-caroli…
Read 10 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Apr 14
1. The Trump administration claims that a program to protect rural Alabamans from raw sewage is racist so it is canceling the program as part of its crackdown on "DEI"

According to a press release, this is about treating "every individual with dignity and respect."

🤔 Image
2. In 2021, the DOJ launched an investigation into the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). The investigation found that the ADPH "engaged in a consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect concerning the health risks associated with raw sewage" in Lowndes County.

popular.info/p/trump-admini…
3. About 72% of the county's residents are Black, but "despite ADPH’s awareness of the issues and the disproportionate burden and impact placed on Black residents in Lowndes County, it failed to take meaningful actions to remedy these conditions."
Read 9 tweets

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